Faster Than a Speeding Bullet

Published:  September 24th, 2013

Steelheart (The Reckoners #1)

By: Brandon Sanderson

Delacorte

ISBN-13:  9780385743563

There are no heroes.

Ten years ago, Calamity came.  It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers.  The awed public started calling them Epics.

But Epics are no friend of man.  With incredible gifts came the desire to rule.  And to rule man you must crush his wills.

Nobody fights the Epics...nobody but the Reckoners.  A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.

And David wants in.  He wants Steelheart -- the Epic who is said to be invincible.  The Epic who killed David's father.  For years, like the Reckoners, David's been studying, and planning -- and he had something they need.  Not an object, but an experience.

He's seen Steelheart bleed.  And he wants revenge.

Review

     David still remembers every detail of the day his father died.  He was a man who believed in superheroes and the good that they could accomplish.  He was excited when people began to gain special powers.  But then Steelheart, an "Epic" in their area murdered David's Dad in cold blood - but not until after he managed to wound Steelheart.  Massacring everyone in the bank vault, except for David who escaped, Steelheart has gone on to take over the entire city and everything in it.  David has spent the last decade studying Steelheart in the hopes of revenge and when the Reckoners, a group that takes down Epics, comes to town he thinks the time has finally arrived.  But how can he figure exactly what drew Steelheart's blood the first time, get rid of all his main henchmen and fellow Epics, before finally striking the fatal blow to the man himself?  And who is the traitor amidst the Reckoners, on the verge of destroying the entire rebellion?

     I read two books by Brandon Sanderson this year: The Rithmatist and Steelheart.  The first one, Rithmatist, reminded me of Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokemon kind of, only with chalk figures/demons instead of digitized monsters and little animals to duel others with.  I appreciated a lot of things about that book, not the least of which was complex world building and some great characters.  I really appreciated and liked it, even enjoyed it, but I didn't fall in love with it.  Steelheart however, is a completely different story!  I have always had a fascination with superheroes ever since I was a child.  I was never really into the cartoons, but I did enjoy the comics and live action films.  Well, this book takes on a whole other side of the normal superhero spin.  What if the people who gained these powers didn't choose to do good things with them and instead decided to take over the world?  Thus a race of supervillains - or at the very least super-assholes - is born!

     Except if things were that easy, than war and peace would be the simplest concepts on the Earth and half the crap in our history wouldn't be as drawn out and gory as it is.  Killing a human being, even one with unnatural powers, is a slippery moral slope with very little high ground.  You are still a murderer, even if your victim is a despot responsible for the deaths of many.  Is killing Steelheart the right thing?  Many cities are in complete chaos but the one he controls is fairly well run and organized.  People have some semblance of a life outside survival in its most basic state.  So to kill, or not to kill?  That is the question.  Also, not every Epic is evil and not every Reckoner is good.  Who is what in the grand scheme of things?  This book is a complete action, thrill a minute kind of book though.  The twists and turns will keep you guessing, until the ending which leaves you with a cliffhanger that will make you want to bust down Sanderson's door for an ARC of #2!  I'm not going to say anymore so as not to spoil, but suffice it to say that this isn't your average superhero paint by numbers, adventure story.  Great characters, plot and flow.  Truly enjoyed this one and I highly recommend it too! :)

VERDICT:  5/5  Stars

**No money or favors were exchanged for this review.  This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.**

Sweet, Sweet Scarlet

Published: February 14th, 2012
Scarlet
By: A.C. Gaughen
Walker Children's
ISBN-13: 9780802723468


Many readers know the tale of Robin Hood, but they will be swept away by this new version full of action, secrets, and romance.

Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the wrath of the evil Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only the Hood and his band know the truth: the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. Helping the people of Nottingham outwit the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham could cost Scarlet her life as Gisbourne closes in.

It’s only her fierce loyalty to Robin—whose quick smiles and sharp temper have the rare power to unsettle her—that keeps Scarlet going and makes this fight worth dying for.

Review

   Will Scarlet is a companion of Robin Hood, the notorious thief who helps the poor and takes from the rich/corrupt.  Only the rest of the Hood's band of thieves know the truth - Scarlet is really a girl.  She has been working with Robin for two years and none of the others know her real name or were she's from.  All they know is that Scarlet had a rough life and that Gisbourne, a cold-blooded thief taker, is after her.  When Gisbourne makes his way to Nottinghamshire to try his hand at catching the Hood and his accomplices, Scarlet is in true danger of being discovered.  When all of the secrets finally explode, everyone will be changed but will it be for the better?  Scarlet's narration was so true to the era that it took me a little bit to get into the book.  That said, I appreciate Gaughen much more because of this than I would if Scarlet and the other characters would have spoken like I do.  The novel's charm is in the rough-hewn edges and complications of its character's lives.  All their deeds are not perfect or heroic.  I adored the way Scarlet refused to pidgeoholed just because of her gender, insisting on being a useful member of the band.  Oftentimes, Scarlet was the one who mananged to most out of everyone.  I was unimpressed, however, with the love triangle between John Littl, Robin Hood and Scarlet.  I felt that it was an insult to my intelligence as a reader because it was really obvious which guy Scarlet was going to choose.  It also made them all act like idiots who couldn't keep it in their britches at times, and ratcheted up unnecessary angst.  The only other really present female character was Ravenna and the novel only showcased through her plight how little of a choice women had during that time.  The only character besides Scarlet that I truly loved was one-handed, somewhat simple Much.  He was always trying to help out and his character was sterling in comparison to many of the others.  Recommended highly for the adventure and suspense of Scarlet's past, if you're able to overlook the love triangle. 

VERDICT:  4/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money was exchanged for this review. The book was published February 14th, 2012.*